UNIT 5B. WATER QUALITY AND QUANTITY ACTIVITY TIME LEVEL Water Temperature & Comfort 45 minutes Introductory Fish & Water Temperature Chart Analysis 60-90 minutes Introductory Goldfish Lab Activity 30-45 minutes Advanced BENCHMARKS Next Generation Science Standards Science & Engineering Practices Common Core State Standards-ELA/Literacy Common Core State Standards-Speaking & Listening Common Core State Standards Mathematics MS-LS2-1 MS-ESS3-5 MS-LS2.A MS-ESS3.C HS-LS2.C -Planning and carrying out investigations. -Analyzing and interpreting data -Using mathematics and computational thinking -Engaging in argument from evidence CCRA.R.1 CCRA.R.4 CRA.R.7 CRA.SL.1 MP.2 OBJECTIVE: Students will observe the properties of water and identify the qualities of water needed by salmon. INTRODUCTION Have you ever been thirsty? Do you remember water rationing in the summer? Are your water bills increasing? We all need water; we cannot live without it. Neither can we work without it. Manufacturing and agricultural processes use water and electricity. What about the salmon? Is water important to them? We know they need water to stay alive, much as we do. For what else do salmon need water? What does water provide for the salmon? In this section, we attempt to answer these questions. In this section, we study and observe water for its properties and inhabitants. Then, we attempt to make some inferences about relationships that may exist between the inhabitants of a body of water, and the properties of that water. We do this by exploring the effects of temperature on dissolved oxygen, and on the respiration rates and temperature tolerances of fish species. We have provided several lessons and activities to study water quality and quantity. Examine each lesson to find the appropriate fit for you class. UNIT 5B: Water Quality & Quantity 5.11
KEY QUESTIONS: What kind of water do salmon need? How much of it do they need? Why are water quality and quantity important to salmon? VOCABULARY (Brief definitions of vocabulary terms are found in the Glossary.): aquatic diversity ecosystem ph sediment microhabitat habitat ACTIVITIES: WATER TEMPERATURE AND COMFORT MATERIALS: STUDENT HANDOUT 5B-1: Water Temperature, Stream Scene STUDENT HANDOUT 5B-2: Where Am I Comfortable? PROCEDURE: A. How do you feel when you re hot? Cold? Do other species have the same feelings? Have students read STUDENT HANDOUT 5B-1: Water Temperature, Stream Scene B. Use the questions in STUDENT HANDOUT 5B-2: Where Am I Comfortable? to reinforce the learning in the reading. These readings discuss the effects of temperature on aquatic organisms, and the role of plants, air, surface area, streambed, stream flow, sediments and discharges in mediating water temperature. FISH AND WATER TEMPERATURE CHART ANALYSIS MATERIALS: STUDENT HANDOUT 5B-3: Fish and Water Temperature PROCEDURE: Discuss human reactions to heat stress. Then have students read and complete the activity in STUDENT HANDOUT 5D: Fish and Water Temperature. This reading describes the effects of temperature on fish, and how to perform a standardized measurement of a fish s temperature tolerance. Students are given temperature tolerance data for 20 fish, and then respond to questions based on that information. UNIT 5B: Water Quality & Quantity 5.12
UNIT 5: STUDENT HANDOUT 5B-1: WATER TEMPERATURE Water Temperature Stream Scene, Oregon Dept. of Fish & Wildlife, 1992 UNIT 5B: Water Quality & Quantity_STUDENT HANDOUT 5B-1 5.13
UNIT 5B: Water Quality & Quantity_STUDENT HANDOUT 5B-1 5.14
UNIT 5: STUDENT HANDOUT 5B-2: WATER TEMPERATURE Use STUDENT HANDOUT 5B-1 to answer the following questions: Name Where Am I Comfortable? 1. For the two questions below, list causes and explain how they work. a. What causes water to heat in a pond, lake or stream? b. What might cause water there to cool? 2. You measure the temperature of a stream. It is 62 o. What kinds of organisms might you expect to find there? 3. You sample a stream and find rainbow trout, caddisfly larvae, dragon fly larvae, water beetles, and some plant life. Estimate, as closely as you can, the temperature of the water in that stream. Explain how you made your decision. 4. Explain how you can use a list of the organisms found in a stream to assess its physical properties. 5. Use all of the information in the article and on this sheet to make a stream analysis worksheet. Your worksheet should be designed so that someone who had followed the directions in the stream analysis worksheet (made observations and recorded them on the worksheet) could determine the general health of the stream. Think carefully, consult with your partners, and then design your stream analysis worksheet. UNIT 5B: Water Quality & Quantity_STUDENT HANDOUT 5B-2 5.15
UNIT 5: STUDENT HANDOUT 5B-3: FISH & WATER TEMPERATURE Fish and Water Temperature Adapted from Stream Scene, Oregon Dept. of Fish & Wildlife, 1992 Salmon Watch Different fish require different water temperatures to survive. Most fish are killed by high temperatures, not by low ones. They may grow more slowly at lower temperatures, but they are not usually killed unless they freeze. Human activities can quickly change water temperature. For instance, a coal or nuclear power plant takes water from the river, turns it into steam, then puts hot water back into the river, thereby raising the temperature. Removing the trees along a river or stream can also raise the temperature. Biologists perform a test to find out what water temperature fish need. The fish are put into an aquarium at a certain temperature and left for twelve hours. The biologist then checks to see how many fish are still alive. The temperature is raised until half the fish die within a twelve-hour period. This temperature is the 12-hour tolerance limit median (12-hour TLM). It is the tolerance limit because it is the highest temperature that fish can tolerate. It is called the median because half of the fish die. Remember that this is not the temperature at which the fish do best. Rather, this is the temperature where half of them die in just twelve hours. A similar number for humans might be 150 degrees Fahrenheit. This is not where we do best, but the limit for our survival. The table below lists the 12-hour TLM for several fish species. COMMON NAME 12 HR. TLM COMMON NAME 12 HR. TLM COMMON NAME 12 HR. TLM Cutthroat Trout 77 F Speckled Dace 85 F Bluegill Sunfish 94 F Coho Salmon 77 F Yellow Perch 87 F Pumpkinseed 94 F Brook Trout 78 F Long Nose Dace 88 F Redside Shiner 95 F Steelhead 80 F Tui Chub 89 F Brown Bullhead 97 F Rainbow Trout 80 F Common Shiner 90 F Largemouth Bass 98 F Brown Trout 81 F Short Nose Dace 92 F Carp 106 F Redband Trout 82 F Fathead Minnow 93 F UNIT 5B: Water Quality & Quantity_STUDENT HANDOUT 5B-3 5.16
QUESTIONS - Fish and Water Temperature Name 1. Explain how you might perform a 48-hour TLM test? 2. Which five species would you expect to survive best if a coal plant raised the stream temperature by 10 degrees Fahrenheit from 80 degrees Fahrenheit? 3. How would Coho salmon probably be affected by an increase in stream temperature caused by a power plant? 4. Look only at the salmon and trout species listed in the table: which one is the least tolerant of high temperatures? Which is the most tolerant? 5. Explain how each of these human activities could cause problems for the salmon by increasing the water temperature. a. removing trees next to a stream b. building a dam c. taking water out of a stream for irrigation UNIT 5B: Water Quality & Quantity_STUDENT HANDOUT 5B-3 5.17
STUDENT HANDOUT 5B-4 Name Effects of Temperature on Goldfish Respiration Rate (Adapted from Stream Scene, ODFW) Purpose: To determine how temperature affects the respiration rate of a fish. Materials needed: 600 ml beaker, filled with 300 ml of aquarium water goldfish thermometer (Celsius) large culture dish with ice Procedure: Put the goldfish in the 600 ml beaker. Observe your fish carefully. Watch how the gill plates on either side of the head move. Watch the mouth open and close. Questions: 1. How do the mouth and gill plates coordinate their movements? 2. As water moves from the mouth, across the gills, and then out of the gill slits, what type of gas will diffuse from the water into the blood of the fish? (This will be the same gas that humans take into their blood as they breathe). How do you think this transfer of gas occurs in the gills? 3. As water moves across the gills, what type of gas will diffuse from the blood and into the water? (Again, the same gas leaves the lungs of humans.) 4. Describe your fish s behavior. UNIT 5B: Water Quality & Quantity_STUDENT HANDOUT 5B-4 5.18
5. Observe your fish. Count how many times the gill plate opens and closes in 15 seconds. Repeat this calculation until you are confident that you can record it accurately. Record that measurement here: 6. Predict: Will the fish open and close its gill plate faster or slower when the water is cold? Why do you think so? 7. Place your thermometer inside the beaker with your fish. Position it so that you can read it without disturbing your fish. Fill the culture dish around the beaker with ice. Pack the ice against the side of the beaker. You may wish to add salt to the culture dish (not the beaker) to speed up the melting (and so speed the cooling of the water in the beaker). Allow the beaker to reach 5 degrees Celsius, then remove it from the culture dish. Dump out the ice. Count the number of times that the gill plate opens and closes in 15 seconds. Repeat. Record your observations on the following chart. At each temperature, note your fish s behavior. Fill the culture dish with lukewarm water. Place the beaker with the fish in the culture dish. Allow the fish to warm to 12 degrees Celsius. Count the gill plate movements for 15 seconds. Repeat and record. Continue to allow the fish to warm up, stopping at 15, 20, and 25 degrees Celsius to record gill plate movements. Do not warm the fish above 25 degrees Celsius! You will need to warm your water in the culture dish periodically. Return the goldfish to the aquarium. UNIT 5B: Water Quality & Quantity_STUDENT HANDOUT 5B-4 5.19
Average your two observations for each temperature. Record your average on the overhead data sheet for the class. Count 1 Count 2 Average Class average 5 degrees C 10 degrees C 15 degrees C 20 degrees C 25 degrees C Temperature Behavior 5 Celsius 10 Celsius 15 Celsius 20 Celsius 25 Celsius UNIT 5B: Water Quality & Quantity_STUDENT HANDOUT 5B-4 5.20
8. Graph your data on the graph below. Label the Y axis Breaths per 15 seconds. Label the X axis Temperature in Celsius. Plot two lines on your graph: your average values, and the class averages. Label your two lines carefully. UNIT 5B: Water Quality & Quantity_STUDENT HANDOUT 5B-4 5.21
Discussion questions: 1. How did your goldfish change its behavior during your experiment? 2. As the temperature increased, what happened to the respiration rate of the goldfish? 3. How does your graph compare to the class average? 4. What are some variables (differences) in your experiment that could explain why your data are different from the other groups? List as many variables as you can. 5. There are two types of animals: warm-blooded and cold-blooded. Warm-blooded animals maintain their bodies at about the same temperature at all times, examples of warm- blooded animals include humans, beavers, and whales. Cold-blooded animals change temperature as the environment changes temperature, such as lizards and frogs. Chemical reactions, such as using oxygen to get energy, happen more slowly at colder temperatures. Are goldfish warm-blooded or cold-blooded? Explain how you know from this lab. 6. If you had very little food for a goldfish and you wanted to make it last as long as possible, at what temperature should you keep your fish? Why? UNIT 5B: Water Quality & Quantity_STUDENT HANDOUT 5B-4 5.22
7. Goldfish are a type of carp. How do their dissolved oxygen requirements compare to those of salmon 8. What is the maximum amount of dissolved oxygen that water can hold at 30º C? 9. What is the maximum amount of dissolved oxygen that water can hold at 0º C? 10. What happens to the amount of dissolved oxygen in a river as the temperature increases? UNIT 5B: Water Quality & Quantity_STUDENT HANDOUT 5B-4 5.23
11. You discovered in question five that fish are cold-blooded (I hope). What happens to their metabolic rate (the rate of chemical reactions such as the consumption of oxygen by their cells) as the water temperature increases? 12. Using your answers to questions 7, 11 and 12, explain why an increase in river temperature can be lethal to salmon. 13. Why is it important to preserve the riparian forest canopy along salmon-bearing streams? UNIT 5B: Water Quality & Quantity_STUDENT HANDOUT 5B-4 5.24